In Buzz Commentary

100 things that suck about Milwaukee

We're a glass half full group of folks over here at OnMilwaukee.com. We love Milwaukee and we rarely have any trouble telling you why. Check out our multiple 100 things to do in Milwaukee lists for proof of that.

But we live and work and play here, too -- just like you -- and so it's only natural that we have our pet peeves about our beloved hometown.

That being said, here are some of those gripes -- in no particular order -- and we know we don't have to tell you that you oughta comment on them and add your own using the Talkback feature at the bottom.

Only three domes

Winter weather

Complaining about winter weather

Too many Milwaukeeans affected by poverty

Only second most relaxed city

9 p.m. booze buying cutoff time

Sinkhole ate my SUV

Housing market crash hampered Downtown housing boom

Edison Street red light district replaced by condos and parking

Seemingly arbitrary parking rules appear designed as back door route to revenue

No Downtown movie theaters

Smoking outside a bar in January

We want our Downer Avenue popcorn wagon back!

Bronze Fonz just stands there; not animatronic

Milwaukee Packers games now a distant memory

Decline of Grand Avenue mall

O'Donnell Park catastrophe

Lack of light rail

One of the most segregated cities

Little Park East development

Aging Hoan Bridge

Only 11 days of Summerfest

Absence of World Series trophies

Failure of the Pabst City entertainment district plan

Slow to embrace new ideas

No city-wide Oktoberfest

One-way streets Downtown

One company owns newspaper, two radio stations and one TV station

Speed limit too low on Lake Parkway

Too few indie bookshops

No more winter equivalent of Summerfest

Two hour drive to IKEA

Water quality of local rivers

Overcoverage of Packers, weather

Potholes

No Guinness at Irish Fest

Freeway on-ramps that quickly become off-ramps

Little county/city cooperation

Inferiority complex to Chicago and other cities

Bernie's chalet has no beer

No political balance on talk radio

Dustin Diamond among our biggest local celebrities

Too many surface parking lots Downtown

No Major League Soccer franchise

Still not bike friendly enough

Property taxes too high

Too few record shops

City magazines run by or aimed at aged suburbanites

Limited recycling program

No subway, though plenty of Subways (which don't suck)

Not enough venues for local musicians

No real dim sum experience in town

Homer Simpson sign keeps getting taken down

Lack of snow plowing in alleys

No year-round trolley

Daily paper's annoying ad drop on our porches

Nasty smells in the Valley, Bay View and Walker's Point

No longer world's brewhouse

Too few vegan options

Loss of small theater groups

100 percent less Pizza Man

Still hooked on Oriental Drugs, but no way to get fix

Too much water in our basements

Sewage releases into the lake

Budget cuts affecting Milwaukee County Parks

Polaris has stopped spinning on a regular basis

Can't hail a cab

Prospect Mall is an eyesore

No Chinatown and, therefore, no Chinese New Year parade

Milwaukeeans overly thrifty

Lack of multi-lingual signage for international tourists

Can't shake old stereotypes of Milwaukee

Seagull poop

Zoo closes too early

High drop-out rate among students

Observation deck closed at US Bank building

Only a few neighborhoods offer retail and dining amenities

Too many failed city marketing slogans

"Urban renewal" erased much of the old Third Ward; new development was slow to come

Most old movie palaces razed or shuttered

Have you seen the city flag?!

Inability to navigate roundabouts

Airport not especially international

Too close to keep Cubs fans away, but also too close to get them to stay overnight and pump money into our economy

Talkbacks

I see a lot of speed limit rants. How about changing one either
1. 99% of people slow down rush hour speeds to either look at crash, a cop car stationary or pulled someone over, or even a car parked on the OTHER side of any HWY.
2. The complete lack of common sense or curtosy to allow people to merge or to get out of the damn right hand lane unless you intend on getting off the HWY. The Marquette interchange is especially bad during rush hour. Two lanes of cars that refuse to let people merge filled with drivers that have no intention of exiting the freeway. I swear you just need to pay the fee to get a DL these days.

You forgot to include the number one thing that sucks... "people who always complain that we have no light rail". I lived in Portland and light rail IS NOT what makes it a great place to live. I am not saying that their light rail is a negative but it is not their silver bullet and even their ridership projections were way too high when it debuted. . The ocean and mountains each being an hour away and mild weather have a lot to do with their quality of life. I go out of town for business 40 weeks of the year and MKE stacks up agaisnt virtually every city of a similar size. It is also no more segregated than most cities I visit. I like MKE and somehow it is a good place to be despite terrible leadership and terrible schools.

You are spot on atomhammer. I just spent time in Portland, a city of similar population size and laid-back attitude. But the difference between MKE and PDX is stark, mainly due to an incredible light rail and streetcar system that completely changes the way people move through the city. You can fly to their airport, hop on light rail, and arrive downtown with plenty of other transit options at your disposal. The trains were routinely packed, a joy to ride, and cheap (Milwaukeeans should love that aspect if nothing else).
Our streetcar can't come fast enough. I only wish they could build the extension lines simultaneously.
Nice list Onmilwaukee. You raised almost every issue I could think of.

You forgot to mention the Christmas lights in the parks. Spending 5 minutes on throwing a single strand of lights on some tree branches and putting up some cheap looking lighted characters (some of which have nothing to do with the holidays, ex. a unicorn) in the parks should not be something we're proud of. I'm embarassed to say that Dallas does a much beter job with their holiday lights than us...actually most small towns do better than MKE. Maybe instead of setting off fireworks every year to mark turning on the lights, spend that money on some nicer displays and workers who will actually take pride in their work when setting the lights up. Seriously, what a joke MKE.

Facebook Comments

Disclaimer: Please note that Facebook comments are posted through Facebook and cannot be approved, edited or declined by OnMilwaukee.com. The opinions expressed in Facebook comments do not necessarily reflect those of OnMilwaukee.com or its staff.